The Construction Prompt Payment and Adjudication Act received Royal Assent on 16 June 2023 and commences by proclamation under section 46. The official commencement schedule checked for this edition lists it as not yet proclaimed. Its future payment, notice and adjudication obligations must be distinguished from the Construction Remedies Act, which already governs lien and holdback rights.
Existing lien and holdback obligations have their own scope and status. Read the relevant topic before using a figure.
Deadlines and reference points
Read the trigger and conditions with the figure. These are statutory reference points, not calculated dates for your project.
- Notice of non-payment windowNot in force
The prompt-payment framework is not operative. Do not use a working-model number as a current obligation. Existing contract, lien and holdback duties remain separate.
Read the source and commencement status- Undertaking to adjudicateNot in force
The prompt-payment framework is not operative. Do not use a working-model number as a current obligation. Existing contract, lien and holdback duties remain separate.
Read the source and commencement status
A current dispute is not a future statutory notice
Respond under the requirements that actually apply to the contract and dispute. The uncommenced prompt-payment regime does not turn an Ontario form or a model notice into a legally prescribed local notice. Keep existing contractual notice, default and service requirements in view.
What a clear payment response should record
Identify the invoice, parties and contract; separate the amount disputed from any undisputed amount; state the factual and contractual reasons; preserve supporting records and proof of delivery. These are preparation principles, not a certification that a statutory form has been satisfied.
Identify the payer and the actual reason
An owner's objection, a contractor's own valuation dispute and upstream non-payment are different situations. Record the amount received and allocated before deciding what is owed downstream. A notice from the owner is not automatically the contractor's notice to a subcontractor.
Check implementation before using forms or undertakings
Confirm proclamation, implementing regulations, prescribed forms, manner of giving and the trigger for the particular tier. Do not assert that a future undertaking to adjudicate is active, or that sending a notice decides the underlying merits.
The enacted Act provides for adjudication, but commencement and implementing procedure must be checked before claiming that this statutory remedy is available. Do not use Ontario's authority, forms or referral deadline as a New Brunswick rule. Current contractual remedies and Construction Remedies Act rights remain separate.
Questions about this guide
Is New Brunswick's prompt-payment framework in force?
The Construction Prompt Payment and Adjudication Act received Royal Assent on 16 June 2023 and commences by proclamation under section 46. The official commencement schedule checked for this edition lists it as not yet proclaimed. Its future payment, notice and adjudication obligations must be distinguished from the Construction Remedies Act, which already governs lien and holdback rights.
Can I use another province's statutory deadlines or forms?
No. Commencement, project scope, local regulations and the applicable contract must be checked. A model period or form is not a substitute for an operative local rule.
Do existing lien and holdback obligations still apply?
The Construction Remedies Act generally requires 10% holdback. Its holdback provisions distinguish substantial performance, completion or abandonment and relevant contract or subcontract certificates. The applicable 60-day period does not run from the invoice merely because that invoice records a holdback deduction. The Construction Remedies Act generally uses a 60-day preservation period, with different triggers for contractors and other claimants, certification, last supply, completion or abandonment. Choose the correct statutory branch and earliest applicable event; do not calculate from the invoice's due date.
Can Learn calculate these prompt-payment deadlines?
No active prompt-payment dates are generated for this jurisdiction. These guides distinguish current obligations from future legislation.
Read the shared explanation
Compare the general concepts, then return to the local rules before acting. Each tool states its supported scope.
Open the general guideSources & scope
Edition: 9 October 2026. General education, not advice on a specific contract. Confirm the current law, project scope and transition before relying on a deadline. This edition has not been represented as independently reviewed by a lawyer.
Construction Remedies Act — current lien and holdback lawConstruction Prompt Payment and Adjudication Act — enacted textNew Brunswick — Acts not yet proclaimed and proclamation schedulesSource register & editorial method